Tuesday, January 5, 2016

The last snow finally melted away just in time for two more snow storms totaling 12" of the white stuff. But that was just the start of the good news. Also had too endure near record cold temps for about a week or longer, all this where the winter forecasts were predicting warmer and drier weather.

the forecast for the next 3 months...you guessed it! (warmer, drier) lol

After the storms

Agave hybrid

Yucca rostrata

Yucca brevifolia

Cylindropuntia imbricacta

Y. brevifolia

Y. brevifolia

Y. baccata

Y. rostrata

Y. faxoniana

Townsend's Solitaire (Maydestes townsendi) I think.

It was eating the juniper berries, very cool. A new bird for my garden.

Now that the weather has begun to warm, i have been able to get out and do inspections on a few of the plants.

Y. torreyi

No sign of damage yet, but I've seen this before with these. Looks fine until spring.

Yucca rostrata

Looks fine, no visual damage.

Some cactus pocking out of the snow. And they look fine.

This how cold hardy cactus should look, dried out and shriveled up.

Echinocereus inermis

Whites leave in the crown. This plant is planted low in the ground and in hopes of being raised up in a gravel bed some day.

Yucca rostrata

And also rabbit damage. I don't blame them, nothing to eat with all the snow covering their food.

Y. faxoniana

No damage so far.

Y. elata

No damage so far.

Y. brevifolia

Damage!

I've seen this kind of damage before and this part of the plant is a goner, but the main plant look ok for now.

Agave hybrid

Some damage, lower left center of plant.

This damage was found on my big yucca brevifolia, a few branches look like this (white yellow inner spear).

A view from the top, over all not bad.

This might be a Y. australis I grew from seed years ago. If it lives through it's second (third?) winter outside I will be shocked. I had one more like it, but it died a few years back.

Y. rostrata

No damage

No looking good for this Joshua-tree

Yucca brevifolia

First year I have ever seen damage to this one.

Y. brevifolia

I bet this one dies to the ground, but they almost always sprout back.

Y. brevifolia.

Out of the pair, only one was in range through my kitchen window. I don't bother the birds (for the most part) If I see them I walk the other way. I've been seeing this couple fly in tand out of he juniper by the kitchen window. I bet they were wintering in the magpie nest I took out of the tree last summer. ARR!!!

Love this Long Horned Owl, we also have at least one Big Horned Owl that comes by, sometimes Barn Owls, and some smaller owls I have yet to identify.